The benefits of filiming at our places
As Northern Ireland’s leading conservation charity, careful consideration is always given to the impact filming will have on our places, staff and resources before approval is given.
‘It’s never ideal to have to close a property coming into peak season’ explains Gemma Elliott, General Manager, ‘but when the opportunity arose to have this special place featured in a new BBC drama we were keen to explore the benefits this would bring. Stars like Jamie Dornan have a huge following and we hope that Death and Nightingales will attract new visitors to Springhill, introducing them to the important work that the National Trust does caring for special places like Springhill for ever, for everyone.
‘As a charity, we are always looking for ways to fund the vital conservation work that we do and allowing the places in our care to be used as filming locations is one such option,’ Gemma continues. ‘The location fee from this project will be used to support ongoing conservation work at Springhill where we will shortly be starting a major restoration project in the house, securing the future of this historic building for generations to come.’
The growth of film tourism
Screen tourism is a major growth industry in Northern Ireland and many of our places have benefited from being used as film locations. The global success of HBO’s Game of Thrones series brings thousands of people to Castle Ward in County Down each year, all eager to explore the authentic film location of ‘Winterfell’. Kearney, Mount Stewart, Crom, Divis and the Black Mountain and Portstewart Strand have all provided settings for recent films and TV dramas, with Springhill now claiming its place in the hall of fame.